Writing Prompt Wednesday #80

“Young walruses, we must all adapt!” begins Matthew Olzmann’s “Commencement Speech, Delivered to a Herd of Walrus Calves,” published in Four Way Review. In the poem, as the title reveals, a speaker offers advice to a herd of walruses on courage, evolution, and survival: “You need to train yourself to do what they won’t expect.” Write a poem in the form of a speech addressed to a group of animals or objects that offers advice and encouragement for challenges only the subject could encounter. Try to use the title, as Olzmann does, to set the scene and the tone for the poem. https://www.pw.org/content/commencement

I have a word to give to you:
Hold them fast and hold them true.
For as a blanket your job is sure,
Be strong and sturdy forever more.
First of all it’s pretty easy:
Be soft and warm and rather breezy.
Bring comfort to the home you serve,
And your title you’ll deserve.
Next is one you must obey:
You can never knot or tear or fray.
For as a blanket your job is sure,
Be strong and sturdy forever more.
Last on the list is most rough:
You have to be there when times are tough.
Be right there and be alright
To keep them there throughout the night.
Hold their head and dry their tears.
Protect them from all their fears.
For as a blanket your job is sure,
Be strong and sturdy forever more.